This scares me. I got two cystic bumps on my right cheek, which is exactly where I used to get my worst acne. I also got a few small pimples on my chin area that went away pretty fast.

So because I am terrified of my acne coming back I have started using Aczone on my right jaw area every night. Aczone is pretty gentle and non-irritating and I decided to just use that product exclusively so I can judge if it works. if it doesn’t work I will go back to a harsher Tactuo/Epuido or Retin-A topical or something. I also use Benzoyl Peroxide on those small pimples as a spot treatment. This really bothers me because half the reason I was on Accutane was so I could stop using topicals and trying to figure out which topicals worked!

Besides that small area, my skin is great! All my blackheads, white heads, and random shit that I didn’t even care about because I was too focused on my cystic cheek acne, are heavily reduced.

I had a facial the other day*****, because apparently my acne is stubborn bitch and after that initial break out I wanted to just clean out my pores, and let me tell you, the facialist extracted nothing close to what she usually did before Accutane. So many less blackheads, gunk etc came out. It was so quick!

She actually said-sorry this is gross- that she purged my skin of a lot of oil. Like she would squeeze a pore and clear oil would come out? Wtf?

I actually don’t even think I have super oily skin, but she says my skin is both “oily and dehydrated”. Literally no clue what that means. Do I need more moisture or less? No one has been able to answer that coherently. I have stopped using Emu Oil and other heavy moisturizers since I went off Accutane, since my skin isn’t that dry anymore.

All the side-effects from the Accutane are gone, including dry lips, and I am going to go for my first wax tomorrow, I’ll let you know if it rips my skin off ;). Hope not!

I’m going to see if I breakout any further, and if so, I might go back on Accutane. Note that I had a very low dosage (40 mg/day) and length of time I was on it (only 3 months), so your experience might be different.

***** Sidenote: I highly recommend facials if you have acne because extracting blemishes yourself is a terrible idea, and they just get stuff out you cant even really see.However, the only facials I like are Dermalogica ones. They are the only ones that don’t make break out. All other facials, even by fancy and well-known facialists make me red and bumpy and I end up purging a few days later. I don’t recommend those at all. (For any Torontonians, I go to The 10 Spot and get either the full facial or the quickie facial, which is a great way to get extractions for a cheaper price, $45.)

So this is my last month on Accutane. The major symptoms so far have been dry lips and skin. Earlier this month my chin was so dry it was actually flaking and peeling off, like a snake. #hot.

However, I experimented and managed to solve that problem with Emu Oil. This stuff is awesome! I just put it on at night over my regular serum. Also, I found the best way to combat dry lips was plain old Cherry Chapstick. Nothing has worked better then this stuff.

I have also had aches and pains but it’s hard to pinpoint that to Accutane, as opposed to just sitting in a chair 8 hours a day. But definitely have had back pain. I was also extremely anxious around month two, but again, it was hard to pinpoint if that was from Accutane, life or the birth control pill. It just went away on it’s on, which I am thankful for, because it was quite terrible. I got off the pill anyway after month two and used another form of birth control (necessary on Accutane, of course). I haven’t noticed crazy body-dryness, but when I rub my skin in a steam room or in the shower, like BALLS of dead skin come off. Which is sort of gross, sorry, but yeah.

My skin is clear. My doctor told me if I had more than 2 pimples I would have to take a 4th month, but that hasn’t happened. I have also noticed that my whiteheads and weird shit on my face has gotten a lot better. I’m just scared that my acne will come back the next time I’m stressed! I have to figure out when I can start using Retin-A or AHA/BHA again, (Do I even still need that stuff?) SO far I have been using really hydrating products like Ponds Cold Cream, hydrating serum and Emu Oil and Clinique’s CityBlock phyiscal sunscreen in the morning. It’s weird not to be using all the anti-acne products that usually make up my regime.

I only have a few more pills to go, and so far I would say it is definitely worth it! Now just have to see if acne comes back.

I have been on Accutane for one month. So far the only side effects I can tell are that my lips are really dry, but not insanely so. I just apply lip balm and Vaseline a lot to them. I don’t know if this is a side effect from Accutane or from the birth control that I am required to be on, but I have been EXTREMELY anxious lately. Like, bizzarely so. But that could be from the pill, or my life, or anything so I don’t want to pinpoint blame. But I have definitely noticed it. I also cry very easily in the past month and for no apparant reason. I am also experiencing naseau and a loss of appettie. Again not sure if that is from the pill, my life, or accutane. All my blood work is good, according to my doctor.

My skin still breaks out into a pimple or two. Apparantly you are supposed to break out a lot at the beginning and then it begins to clear. I haven’t broken out a lot, just a few pimples.

Two people have complimented my skin! (remember I didn’t have crazy acne or anything before). One friend called my skin “luminious” and another said my skin looked “crazy good”.

I also have stopped wearing foundation to work, which used to be a major staple for me. It’s quite shocking. I am beginning to like how my skin actually looks. Without makeup. I even let a guy see me without makeup!

I have also switched from cleansing my skin using a clarisonic+face wash to just using a makeup wipe. I would think this would be bad for my skin, but it seems to be working. Those things must be really bad for the environment but, I am lazy.

Alright. So, after literally over a decade of my dermatologist trying to push Accutane on me, I took the plunge. I had been so resistant to it for so long because I did not want to put drugs in my body that were that harsh. I don’t even like taking Advil. But after having acne since Grade 5 and trying literally everything under the sun, and STILL HAVING ACNE, I just decided enough was freakin’ enough.

There were things that I tried that would work very well, and I would have clear skin for long stretches, but without fail, sometimes before my period or when I went through a lot of stress, my acne would flare up again. It is really a disease that needs to be constantly managed. There really is no “cure” besides Accutane (and sometimes even that is not a cure!)

I want to share with you guys my experience on Accutane so you and your Dr. can decide if this medication is right for you. I am going to write a post every month for the next three months to tell you my progress.

My acne history

When I was a pre-teen and a teenager I had all over acne with small bumps on my forehead, nose, cheeks. I tried a bunch of topical treatments but when I was younger I wasn’t as good with any sort of beauty routine so nothing really consistently, and nothing really worked. I did wear makeup every day and my acne was bothersome but it didn’t take over my life or anything since I tried to have a healthy perspective about it.

Starting age 17 I developed more stress related cystic acne and less teenager/oily acne. During exam time without fail I would break out into huge cystic acne bumps along my chin and jaw line. This continued throughout university. After university and with much reduced stress and going on Tetracycline, my skin became a LOT clearer. However my acne returned when I went to grad school with the same terrible cystic bumps and got HORRIBLE during writing my thesis. It was also bad right before my period. My skin again got incredibly clearer once I graduated and started working and had very little stress. I also went on a strict regime of 3 oral medications (antibiotics, birth control pill, spiro), 2 topical medications (aczone and epuido) and this controlled my acne considerably. I went off everything but Spiro and using some salicylic acid 2% to maintain my ish clear skin. But still sometimes I would just get acne, almost always right before my period. It was so freaking annoying and I was sick of it and it was starting to leave a lot of hyper pigmentation marks, so I decided to finally try Accutane.

My fears

This medication can have a lot of horrible side effects. Reading the label is truly terrifying. And if I get pregnant I have to get an abortion. I also have to be on the birth control pill so that is another medication that I DON’T want to take with its own side effects, but I have to. Also my Dr. told me I wasn’t supposed to drink. But I do drink. I hope this doesn’t fuck up my liver.

Side effects so far

I’ve been on this medication for about 2 weeks and so far I have dry lips and flaky facial skin.

Length of Treatment: 3 monthsDosage: 40 mg/day

Learn more about Accutane and all the scary shit associated with it here

Things I have already tried to clear my acne

Note: A lot of things HELPED my acne for long periods of time (years) but eventually my acne would always reappear in some form.